Pail bail



Aug. 19, 1941. A, B, BM DEN A 2,252,686-

' PAIL BAIL Filed June 28, 1958 IN VENTOR8:

ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 19, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAIL BAIL Alvin B.Baisden and William A. Lentz, Belleville, N. J.

Application June 28, 1938, Serial No. 216,245

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in balls for pails, cans, kettlesand the like, but especially for pails or cans used for distribution ofpaint, varnishes, lacquers and similar materials.

This invention has for its object to provide a novel form ofconstruction of bail for pails or cans which possesses, among others,the following, advantages in use, viz., the same so disposes itselfrelative to the pail or can body, when down-folded into out of servicerelation thereto, as to closely hug or embrace the pail or can bodywhereby a number of pails or cans may be closely packed together inshipping cartons of minimum size, thereby avoiding necessity of removingthe bails from the pails or cans for ship ment; the bail is ofsuch novelform as fold down relative to the pail or can in such manner as toinvolve little or no risk of injuring any label applied to the pail orcan sides, and thus avoiding necessity for returning pails or cans forreplacement of damaged labels; the ball, by reason of its novel form andconstruction, is especially adapted to cooperate with ladder hooks andlike suspension devices used by painters to suspend paint pailsconveniently at hand on the job, for in such case the bail, when raisedand engaged with such hook or the like, will offset itself relative tothe open top of the pail or can in such manner as to leave the entirearea of the open mouth thereof unobstructed so as to offer nointerference with the dipping of paint brushes into the content of thepail or can, while nevertheless firmly and adequately supporting thepail or can against tipping, spilling or like accidental occurrences.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularlyenumerated, will be understood from the following detailed descriptionof the same.

An illustrative embodiment of our invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a pail or can equipped with the novel bailaccording to this invention, the bail being shown in down-turned out ofservice relation to the pail or can body; and Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the pail or can with the bail in like position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the pail or can with the bailraised to service position at one side thereof and engaged with a ladderhook so as to suspend the pail or can in a place of use; and Fig. i is atop end view of the pail or can as thus suspended by the bail,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the pail or can with the bailraised to suspending position at the opposite side of the same.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above describedviews, to indicate corresponding parts.

In the accompanying drawing, the reference character In indicates thebody of a pail or can of the cylindrical type usually employed for thecommercial distribution of paint and similar materials. Suitably afiixedrespectively to diametrically opposite points of the exterior surface ofthe pail or can body H) are hollow perforate bail complying bosses ll,having the bail end receiving perforations or openings l2 centrallylocated in the face wall thereof. These coupling bosses II arepositioned, at suitable spaced distance, downwardly from the top ormouth end I 3 of the pail or can body.

The novel bail is formed from a continuous length of metal wire ofsuitable gauge so as to provide, at the opposite extremities thereof,angularly projected coupling hooks [4 adapted to enter through theperforations or openings l2 of the bosses II, to thereby pivotallyattach the bail to the pail or can body. The end portions l5 from whichthe coupling hooks 14 project are disposed to extend parallel to theface walls of the coupling bosses II, and are provided with inwardlyofisetting'portions 16 extending inwardly toward the pail or can sides,and outwardly of but substantially parallel to the circumferential sidewalls of said bosses ll. Extending from said offsetting portions [6 arestraight bail legs I! which are substantially parallel to theperpendicular plane of the pail or can walls. These bail legs I! are ofa critical length, which substantially corresponds to the distancebetween the coupling bosses H and the margin of the pail or can top ormouth. Said bail legs I! are interconnected by an arcuate bail body l8having a radius substantially corresponding to the radius of thecylindrical body of the pail or can. The connections between said baillegs I! and bail body [8 comprise offsetting elbows l9 whereby the bailbody I8 is caused to lie in a plane intersecting the plane of the baillegs I! at an obtuse included angle, preferably of about to degrees.

The novel bail formed and constituted as above described, whendown-turned to out of service position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, willso relate itself to the pail or can body l0, that the bail legs ll willlie closely parallel or flatly to the pail or can sides (see Fig. 2),while the arcuate bail body l8 will also lie in comparatively closehugging relation to the curved contour of the pail or can sides. Byreason of such close fitting relation of the bail as a whole to the pailor can body, the bail will lie substantially within the confines of theexternal projecting beads 2b which usually bound the top and bottom endsof commercial paint pails or cans. As a consequence of this, the pailsor cans may be more closely packed together in a shipping carton, sothat a carton of minimum size may be employed; and since the bails as sopositioned offer no undue obstruction to such close packing of the pailsor cans, there is no necessity of removing the balls from the pails orcans for shipment, as is quite common practice with ordinarysemi-circular bails, and consequently time and labor is saved to theretailer since the latter is not required to assemble the bails with thepails or cans prior 7 to retailing distribution. Another advantageof thenovel bail, as disposed in the described downturned relation to the pailor can, is that there is considerably less risk of tearing, marring ormutilation of labels, when the pails or cans are packed for shipment, bythe digging or abrasive action of either the bail of a corresponding orof adjacent pails or cans. I

In using the novel bail of this invention to suspend the pail or canserved thereby in :a place of use, such e. g. as from a ladder uponwhich a painter stands during work, a ladder hook 2! depending from thelatter is engaged with the bail body [8 of the upswung bail (see Figs. 3and 4) so that th pail or can body it] rests against the upright 22 ofthe ladder. In such operative raised and pail or can suspendingposition, the bail legs I! will be caused to extend from the couplingbosses II substantially perpendicular to and toward the ladder, whilethe bail body will incline angularly toward and somewhat outwardlyadjacent to and above the margins of the open pail or can top, with itscentral portion supported by the suspension hook 2i. As thus operativelydisposed, the bail body it circles aroundthe upper portion of the pailor can, so that its central portion is inwardly offsetrela tive to theopen top or mouth of the pail or can, thus leaving the latter entirelyfree and open, with no part of the bail overhangingthe same so as toobstruct or interfere in any way with the operations of dipping apaintbrush into the content of the pail or can (see Fig. 4) I Owing tothe novel conformation of the bail,

it makes no difference whether the same is upraised and disposed toeither the right or left of the open top or mouth of the pail or can,for in either case the offset disposition of the bail body I8 relativeto the open top or mouth of the tegral formation comprising an arcuatemain portion the curvature of which is of a radius substantiallycorresponding to the radius of the curvature of said cylindrical pailbody, the extremities of said main portion terminating in straight legportions extending in a plane obtusely angular to the plane of said mainportion,

said straight leg portions being of lengths substantially correspondingto the distance by which said bail pivoting means are spaced from thetop end of said pail body, and means at the free ends of said legportions to operatively engage said pivoting means.

2. In combination with a cylindrical pail body or the like provided withoppositely and externally projected hollow perforate bail couplingbosses spaced downwardly from the top end of said pail body, a bailconsisting in. an integral formation comprising an arcuate main portionthe curvature of which is of a radius substantially corresponding to theradius of the curvature of said cylindrical pail body, the'extremitiesof said main portion terminating in straight leg portions extending in aplane obtusely angular to the plane of said main portion, said straightleg portions being of lengths substantially corresponding to thedistance by which said bail coupling bosses are spaced from the top endof said pail body, said straight leg portions being respectivelydisposed in planes closely contiguous and parallel to the perpendicularplanes of opposite sides of the pail body, and said straight legportions terminating in coupling portions having hook-like extremitiesto pivotally engage in the perforate coupling bosses and offsettingportions inwardly extending from said hook-like extremities to saidstraight leg portions.

ALVIN B. BAISDEN. WILLIAM A. LENTZ.

